Seventeen crew on steamer NEMEA were lost. The steamer was abandoned, but was
reboarded on the 16th. Twelve crew was lost on the steamer BRASK. Survivours
from steamer BRASK were found on the Greek steamer when she was reboarded.
The Greek steamer later sank.

_____

Convoy HX.103 departed Halifax, escorted by battleship ROYAL
SOVEREIGN, destroyer RESTIGOUCHE, corvette ARROWHEAD. The destroyer and the
corvette were detached the next day.

Convoy BHX.103 departed Bermuda on the 13th escorted locally
by armed yacht ELK and ocean escort armed merchant cruiser
MONTCLARE. The convoy rendezvoused with convoy HX.103 on the 18th and the
armed merchant cruiser was detached.

The battleship was detached on the 26th. On the 27th, destroyer
VANQUISHER and corvettes GENTIAN and VERBENA joined the convoy and were
detached later that day. On the 28th, destroyers VISCOUNT, WHITEHALL, WINCHELSEA joined the convoy
and were detached on the 31st, and arrived at Liverpool on 1 February.

Destroyer DOUGLAS was detached from the escort of armed merchant cruiser SALOPIAN to
assist, but was low on fuel and had to proceed to Scapa Flow, arriving at 2200. Destroyer
ST ALBANS, also escorting cruiser SALOPIAN, was sent in her place.

Destroyers BEAGLE and BRILLIANT, after escorting convoy WS.5B,
refuelled at Londonderry and were sent to search and sweep in the area.

Destroyers SOMALI, MATABELE, BEDOUIN, TARTAR, completing their escort
of battleship KING GEORGE V, were ordered to carry out an anti-submarine
search along the latitude of 58 N, north of Rockall. If no results were
obtained, the destroyers were then ordered to return to Scapa Flow.

On the 18th, destroyer BEAGLE was detached to escort steamer JAMAICA
PLANTER clear of the danger zone to the Minches. The destroyer then arrived
at Scapa
Flow
at 0700/20th.

At 0700/20th, an unsuccessful attack was made on a submarine contact
in 59-40N, 17-52W by the SOMALI group.

At 0802 on the 21st, destroyer TARTAR attacked a submarine contact.

Destroyer BRILLIANT arrived at Scapa Flow at 1100/22nd.

Destroyer SOMALI developed hull defects on the 22nd. This, all the
destroyers low on fuel, caused the 6th Destroyer Flotilla destroyers to
proceed to Loch Alsh, arriving at 1830/22nd.

The destroyers were able to depart Loch Alsh at 1815/23rd to return to
Scapa
Flow,
arriving at 0500/24th.

Convoy AS.11 arrived at Port Said escorted by corvettes PEONY
and GLOXINIA.

_____

Corvettes HYACINTH and SALVIA departed Port Said with two merchant ships for
Alexandria arriving that day.

_____

Monitor TERROR and gunboat APHIS departed Alexandria at 1800 for Operation IS 1,
the bombardment of Tobruk during the nights of 18/19 and 19/20 January.

Light cruiser ORION, anti-aircraft cruiser BONAVENTURE, destroyers
JERVIS, NUBIAN, HERO departed Alexandria at 0400/18th to support this
operation. The cruisers operated northeast of Tobruk and the destroyers to
the west.

Bad weather postponed the operation for twenty four hours.

Monitor TERROR and gunboats GNAT and LADYBIRD bombarded positions at
Marsa el Shal near Tobruk during the night of 20/21 January.

_____

Convoy HG.51 departed Gibraltar, escorted by sloop FOLKESTONE. Destroyer
FIREDRAKE joined the escort on the 18th and continued with the convoy until
20 January.

On the 30th, destroyer VOLUNTEER and corvettes BLUEBELL and CANDYTUFT
joined the escort. Sloops EGRET and LONDONDERRY joined on the 31st. Destroyer
WESTCOTT was involved in local escort duties near the destination, and
arrived on 3 February at Liverpool.

_____

French submarine ATALANTE arrived at Oran after departed Toulon on the 14th. The submarine
departed Oran on 18 February and arrived at
Casablanca on the 20th.

_____

Convoy BN.13 departed Aden, escorted by light cruiser
CALEDON, destroyer KIMBERLEY, sloops FLAMINGO, INDUS, PARRAMATTA, SHOREHAM, gunboat CRICKET.
The destroyer, sloop SHOREHAM, the gunboat were detached on the 18th, sloop
PARRAMATTA on the 20th, light cruiser
CALEDON and sloop INDUS on the 21st, sloop FLAMINGO
on the 22nd. Sloop CLIVE joined on the 22nd and the convoy arrived at Suez on the 24th.

_____

A French force led by light cruiser LAMOTTE PICQUET attacked a force
of Siamese warships in Indo Chinese waters.

Without loss to themselves, the French damaged Siamese coastal defense
ships SRI AYUTHIA and DONBURI and sank torpedo boats TRAD,
SONGHKLA, CHOMBURI during operations in the Kho Chang Archipelago in the
Gulf of Siam.

Defense ship DONBURI was badly damaged and stranded. When the ship was
towed off, she sank.

Defense ship SRI AYUTHIA was torpedoed by LAMOTTE PICQUETT and
beached in the River Chantaboum.

Saturday,18 January

Destroyer CASTLETON, under repair at Portsmouth, was damaged by near misses
of German bombing.

Aircraft carrier ILLUSTRIOUS in dock at Valletta, Malta, was damaged by two misses of
air bombs.

The aircraft carrier was thrown against the wharf and sustained damage
below the water line. Her port turbine was fractured and the boiler room
flooded.

Destroyer IMPERIAL in dock from her October mining was near missed,
but not damaged when debris from the dock was blown into the dock.

A Fulmar of 806 Squadron from ILLUSTRIOUS was shot down after shooting
down a JU 87. Lt R. S. Henley and Naval Airman A. S. Rush were both picked
up.

_____

On the 19th, operation IS 1 was cancelled due to bad weather.

The cruisers and destroyers were withdrawn for other operations and
proceeded to SudaBay.

Gunboat APHIS was having problems with the weather. Two destroyers and
an aircraft were sent to assist her.

The gunboat was found at 1300 off Damietta. Destroyer GRIFFIN escorted the gunboat to Port Said arriving at 0700/20th.

Gunboat APHIS was under repair until 27 January at Port Said.

_____

Convoy AN.12 arrived at Piraeus on the 18th. Escorting heavy
cruiser YORK also arrived at Piraeus.

_____

Light cruiser AJAX departed Alexandria for SudaBay.

_____

Destroyer DECOY, under repair in dock at Malta, was damaged by German
bombing.

However, her completion was not delayed.

_____

Convoy BS.13 departed Suez. The convoy was joined on the
20th by sloops CLIVE and GRIMSBY. The sloops were relieved on
the 22nd by light cruiser CALEDON and sloops FLAMINGO, INDUS, PARRAMATTA. The convoy was dispersed on
the 27th.

When the battleship's departure was delayed until 25 January, the
escort ships were ordered back to Scapa Flow, arriving at 0815/20th.

_____

Convoy OB.276 departed Liverpool, escorted by destroyers
ANTELOPE and ANTHONY, corvettes ORCHIS and PICOTEE, seaplane carrier PEGASUS,
anti-submarine trawlers ARAB, AYRSHIRE, LADY MADELEINE. Corvette PICOTEE was
detached on the 23rd and the remainder of the escort on the 24th when the
convoy dispersed.

_____

Destroyer BELMONT departed Scapa Flow at 1715 for Liverpool after completing her working
up exercises.

Corvettes SALVIA and HYACINTH proceeded in company to establish a
patrol in the Kithera Straits

The Kithera Straits patrol began on the 22nd with the corvettes,
anti-submarine trawler KINGSTON CYANITE, Sutherland aircraft from Scaramanga
in the Piraeus area, and arrived at Suda Bay on the 22nd and Piraeus on the
23rd.

On 7 February, destroyers ACHATES and ANTELOPE joined. On 8 February,
corvette PICOTEE joined for the day only.

On the 9th, the destroyers were relieved by destroyers ANTHONY for the
day only andGEORGETOWN, sloop FLEETWOOD for the day only, corvette HEATHER to
10 February, anti-submarine trawler AYRSHIRE for the day only, and arrived on
10 February.

Tuesday,21 January

Destroyer INTREPID and submarine SEALION took part in a special
exercise off Blyth.

Following the exercise, destroyers INTREPID and IMPULSIVE converted to
minelayers and sailed to Scapa Flow to arrive on the 24th.

On 3 February, destroyers ARROW and CHURCHILL and corvettes AUBRETIA
and HOLLYHOCK joined the escort. Destroyer CHURCHILL and corvette AUBRETIA
were detached on 6 February and the remainder of the escort on 8 February,
and arrived at Liverpool on 8 February.

Battleship KING GEORGE V escorted the convoy from 31 January to 3
February. The armed merchant cruiser remained with the convoy until 4
February. On 5 February, destroyers HAVELOCK, HESPERUS, LINCOLN, SHIKARI,
SABRE, corvettes CLARKIA and GLADIOLUS, anti-submarine trawlers NORTHERN
WAVE and WELLARD joined. Destroyer
HAVELOCK and corvette CLARKIA were detached on 7 February.
Destroyers HESPERUS, LINCOLN, SHIKARI were detached on 8 February. The remaining
corvette and the two trawlers escorted the convoy into Liverpool arriving on 9 February. Anti
submarine trawler LEEDS UNITED escorted the Milford Haven local section.

Wednesday,22 January

Light cruisers ARETHUSA and NIGERIA arrived at Scapa Flow at 1805 after patrol.

_____

German battlecruisers SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU departed Kiel to raid in the North and
Central Atlantic in Operation BERLIN.

Convoy OB.277 departed Liverpool, escorted by destroyers
VANQUISHER, VISCOUNT, WHITEHALL, WINCHELSEA and corvettes
GENTIAN and VERBENA. The corvettes were detached on the 26th and the
destroyers on the 27th when the convoy was dispersed.

Italian liner LIGURIA (15,354grt), immobilised
since bombing damage on 5 July, was sunk by British bombing at Tobruk.

The liner was later salved.

_____

An Italian convoy of passengers ships ESPERIA, CONTE ROSSO, MARCO POLO
and steamer VICTORIA departed Naples for Tripoli on the 22nd, escorted by
destroyers FRECCIA and SAETTA to Trapani, then VIVALDI, TARIGO, MALOCELLO, DA
NOLI of the 14th Destroyer Division.

Submarine UNIQUE fired torpedoes at the convoy off Kerkenah. Steamer
ESPERIA was missed in the attack. The convoy did not know it had been
attacked and arrived safely at Tripoli on the 24th.

_____

Convoy SC.20 departed Halifax, escorted by armed merchant cruiser
RANPURA and patrol vessel OTTER. The patrol vessel was detached the next day
and the armed merchant cruiser on 4 February. On 4 February, destroyer
HARVESTER, corvettes ARBUTUS, CAMELLIA, ERICA, anti-submarine yacht PHILANTE
joined the escort. The escort was detached on 8 February and the convoy
arrived at Liverpool on 8 February.

The ELIZABETH BAKKE was the fastest of the five and proceeded
independently.

Light cruisers NAIAD and AURORA met steamers TAURUS and TAI SHAN. They
turned these steamers over the CS 18 group and returned to meet JOHN BAKKE
and RANJA. These two steamers were under air attack when the cruisers found
them. Steamer RANJA was strafed by a German aircraft and her First Officer
was wounded.

British steamer LURIGETHAN (3564grt) was sunk by German bombing in
53-46N, 16-00W.

Fifteen crew and one gunner were lost on the steamer.

_____

British steamer LANGLEGORSE (4524grt) was sunk by German bombing from
convoy SL.61 in 53-19N, 13-11W.

The entire crew was lost.

_____

British steamer MOSTYN (1859grt) was sunk by German bombing in 54-30N,
14-52W.

Two crew were lost.

A tug was sent to assist on the 25th, but she was unable to locate the
steamer.

_____

During the night of 23/24 January, German minelayers ROLAND, COBRA,
KAISER, SKAGERRAK, escorted by destroyer
RICHARD BEITZEN and torpedo boats ILTIS and SEEADLER laid mines off the
British south coast in Operation SW b.

Destroyer INGLEFIELD departed the Nore for Scapa Flow after repair at 1700,
andarrived at 1730/26th.

_____

British steamer CORHEATH (1096grt) was sunk on a mine one mile 270°
from Botany Buoy in Thames Estuary. Three crew were lost.

_____

British steamer TASMANIA (6405grt) was damaged on a
mine 11½miles 90° from Rattray Head.
She was unable to enter Aberdeen due to bad weather and
returned to Methil, arriving at Methil on the 25th. She left Leith in tow for the Tees on 3 February.

_____

U.123 sank Norwegian steamer VESPASIAN (1570grt) in 55N, 15W.

_____

German raider ATLANTIS sank British steamer MANDASOR (5144grt) 300
miles east of the Seychilles in 4-18S, 61-00E. Two British crew were lost,
one died and sixteen were taken prisoner. Two native crew were lost and 60
taken prisoner.

Cruisers CANBERRA, LEANDER, SYDNEY, COLOMBO were brought to the area to
search, but no contact was made.

Cruiser LEANDER departed Colombo on the 24th and searched the
area.

Australian light cruiser SYDNEY remained in the area for three days.

After searching, cruiser LEANDER refuelled at AdduIsland on the 27th and arrived back
at Colombo on the 30th.

_____

Submarine TRIUMPH, which was unable to leave her dock at Malta due to bombing on the 21st,
was successfully cleared from the dock on the 24th. The submarine was able to
proceed on patrol at 1830.

Australian light cruiser PERTH departed Alexandria the same day for SudaBay to arrive during the morning
of 26 January.

_____

Netlayer PROTECTOR, escorted by destroyers DAINTY and JAGUAR, departed
Alexandria with the first half of the anti torpedo boom for
SudaBay.

On arrival at SudaBay, the destroyers were detached
to Kithera patrol.

_____

Convoy AS.13 departed Pireaus for Port Said, escorted by anti-aircraft
cruiser COVENTRY and destroyers WRYNECK and
VENDETTA. Minesweeper FAREHAM joined the convoy from SudaBay, and arrived on the 27th at
Port Said with destroyer WRYNECK.

Convoy BS.13A departed Suez, escorted by sloop GRIMSBY. The sloop was relieved by
destroyer KANDAHAR and sloop YARRA. The convoy
was dispersed on 1 February.

_____

Aircraft carrier HERMES and light cruiser ENTERPRISE, operating as Force J, intercepted
Vichy French steamer SONTAY (8917grt) and took her to Durban.

_____

Convoy HX.105 departed Halifax, escorted by armed merchant
cruiser ASCANIA. On the 27th, submarine PORPOISE was with the convoy for that
day only. The armed merchant cruiser was detached on 6 February.

There was no BHX.105; the merchant ships presumably going to the UK direct in BHX.104.

The corvettes were detached on the 28th and the convoy was joined by
destroyer WESTCOTT, which remained with the convoy until 29 January. On the
29th, destroyer VOLUNTEER joined the convoy and remained until 30 January.
Corvette KINGCUP joined the convoy on the 31st and left that evening, and
arrived at Gibraltar on 8 February, escorted by sloop LEITH.

_____

Convoy FN.392 departed Southend, escorted by destroyers COTSWOLD and
WESTMINSTER and patrol sloop PUFFIN. The
sloop was detached on the 27th, and arrived at Methil on the 28th.

_____

Convoy FS.396 departed Methil, escorted by destroyers VIVIEN and
WOOLSTON. Patrol sloop WIDGEON joined on the 27th, and arrived at Southend on
the 28th.

_____

British steamer MERIONES (7557grt) was sunk by German bombing in
52-53N, 1-47E while ashore Haisborough Sands.

The crew were all rescued.

The steamer was a constructive total loss.

_____

Dutch steamer BEEMSTERDIJK (6869grt) was badly damaged on a mine
twelve miles off Smalls bearing 290.

Thirty nine crew of a forty two man crew were lost.

The steamer anchored at 0930/27th in 51-17N, 6-23W. The steamer
subsequently sank.

The steamer probably sank on a British mine.

_____

Swedish steamer BELGIA (2023grt) in convoy FN.92 was damaged by German
bombing near Sunk Light Vessel.

The steamer drifter ashore at Frinton on the 27th on fire. Six crew
were killed. Twenty survivors were rescued by destroyer COTSWOLD.

The steamer arrived at Harwich on 14 February in tow of two tugs. The
ship was repaired and renamed EMPIRE BELL.

Italian torpedo boat ORIONE arrived on the scene and picked up
survivors.

Tuesday,28 January

Light cruiser NAIAD on blockade duty sighted German battlecruisers
SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU at 0649 briefly to the east of Iceland. However, the German ships
turned away at high speed and were gone before a definite sighting was made.

Convoy OB.279 departed Liverpool, escorted by destroyers
ARROW, MISTRAL, OURAGAN, corvettes AUBRETIA and HOLLYHOCK, anti-submarine
trawler KING SOL. Destroyer CHURCHILL joined on the 29th. The
destroyers were detached on 1 February and the remainder of the escort on 2
February when the convoy dispersed.

_____

Convoy FN.394 departed Southend, escorted by destroyer WALLACE and
sloop FLEETWOOD, and arrived at Methil on the 30th.

_____

Corvette BLUEBELL was in a collision with Destroyer WESTCOTT in the
Western Approaches.

Tug SALVONIA stood by the damaged corvette, which proceeded to Londonderry accompanied by destroyer
WESTCOTT.

Corvette BLUEBELL departed Londonderry on the 30th for Liverpool, but had to shelter from
weather at Belfast on 4 and 5 February. The
corvette arrived at Lierpool on 5 February. Repairs were completed at Cammell
Laird on 4 March.

The damage to the destroyer was slight and was repaired at Liverpool on the 29th.

_____

British tanker WAR PINDARI, which had come from the Clyde, departed Scapa Flow at 1000 escorted by
destroyers NAPIER and SOMALI.

The tanker proceeded to the Skaalefjord, Faroes, arriving on the 29th,
to refuel destroyers operating at sea.

British steamer PANDION (1944grt) was sunk by German bombing in
55-34N, 10-22W.

The steamer anchored off Loch Swilly. She was grounded and later
abandoned. The steamer broke in two due to heavy weather.

_____

British steamer GRELROSA (4574grt) was sunk by German bombing in
55-12N, 15-41W.

Five crew were lost.

_____

British steamer oil refinery TAFELBERG (13,640grt) was badly damaged
on a mine in 51-21N, 3-16W.

She was beached at Porthkerry, refloated and taken to Whitmore Bay,
then reconstructed as a tanker and renamed EMPIRE HERITAGE.

_____

British steamer BARON RENFREW (3635grt) was damaged by German bombing
in 55-50N, 10-18W.

The steamer had engine room damage. Corvette CANDYTUFT stood by the
damaged steamer. Sloop LEITH was also in the escort of this convoy. The steamer was
taken in tow for Loch Lathaich and anchored about 7 February.

Steamer BARON RENFREW was taken to the Clyde under tow arriving on 25
February. She was later taken to Glasgow.

British steamer LEVERNBANK (5150grt) and tanker DESMOULEA (8120grt)
departed Alexandria on the 29th, escorted by
anti-aircraft cruiser CALCUTTA and corvette PEONY, to
overtake the convoy.

British steamer ETHIOPIA (5574grt), carrying RAF personnel for Crete
and Greece, departed Port Said during the morning of 29 January, escorted by
destroyer HASTY to overtake the convoy and pass through Kaso Straits during
the night of 30/31 January.

The Port Said section was delayed by
weather and the Alexandria section and steamer ETHIOPIA continued independently.

Destroyers DAINTY and JAGUAR swept the KasoStrait prior to the convoy's
passage.

At daylight on the 31st, anti-aircraft cruiser CALCUTTA and destroyer JAGUAR joined
convoy AN.14. Destroyer DAINTY remained with the two Alexandria ships.

Light cruisers AJAX and PERTH provided cover for all these
movements.

_____

Submarine TRUANT departed Alexandria to patrol off Benghazi.

_____

Netlayer PROTECTOR was ordered to sail from SudaBay to collect prisoners at
Tobruk and take them to Alexandria.

The vessel sailed from SudaBay during the morning of 29
January to arrive at Tobruk on the 30th. She was escorted by destroyer JAGUAR
to latitude 35N.

British steamers DEVONSHIRE and DILWARA, formerly of convoy US.008/1,
departed Port Said escorted by destroyer
WRYNECK.

On arrival at Haifa, the destroyer returned to
Alexandria.

Thursday,30 January

Destroyer BOREAS arrived at Scapa Flow from the Nore to join the
Home Fleet.

_____

Submarine SUNFISH attacked an escorted convoy off Kristiansand. The submarine unsuccessfully
fired torpedoes against a tanker.

_____

German battlecruisers SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU refuelled at sea from
German tanker ADRIA (6358grt).

Following the refuelling, the German ships ran the Denmark Strait on 2 February.

On 5 February, the battleships refueled from German tanker
SCHLETTSTADT (8028grt) south of Cape Farewell.

_____

Derna was captured by the British.

_____

The British Suez Canal Company's Dredger was sunk by German bombing in
LakeTimsah.

_____

Submarine UPHOLDER attacked a convoy of Italian steamers MOTIA
(2473grt) and DELFIN (5322grt), which departed Palermo on the 27th for Tripoli, unsuccessfully in 32-55N,
12-41E, thirty miles north of Zavia.

The submarine was counter-attacked by convoy escort torpedo boat
ALDEBARAN.

_____

Destroyer VIMIERA, which departed Rosyth on the 27th, was damaged by
German aircraft machine gunning while joining convoy FS.397 in the North Sea.

The damage caused no time out of service and reach Rosyth on 2
February after the convoy escort.

_____

U.94 sank British steamer RUSHPOOL (5125grt), which was straggling
from convoy SC.19, in 56N, 15-42W.

The entire crew of forty men was rescued by destroyer ANTELOPE.

_____

Norwegian steamer AUSTVARD (3677grt) was sunk by German bombing 130
miles west of GalwayIsland.

Twenty three crew of a twenty eight man crew were lost.

_____

Belgian steamer OLYMPIER (5266grt) was badly damaged by German bombing
250 miles southwest of Ireland.

The steamer was attacked again on the 31st in 56-04N, 11W.

_____

German steamer KONIGSBERG (2530grt) was sunk on a mine near ELBE I lightship.

_____

Aircraft carrier EAGLE was undocked and proceeded to sea for exercises
escorted by destroyers GREYHOUND, GRIFFIN, JUNO, two other destroyers.

The British ships returned to Alexandria the next day.

_____

Convoy HX.106 departed Halifax, escorted by battleship RAMILLIES
and corvette COLLINGWOOD. The corvette was detached the next day.

Convoy BHX.106 departed Bermuda on the 28th escorted by ocean
escort armed merchant cruiser MALOJA. The convoy rendezvoused with convoy
HX.106 on 2 February and the armed merchant cruiser was detached.

The battleship was detached on 10 February. On 12 February, destroyers
BURNHAM, MALCOLM, SALADIN, SARDONYX, SKATE and corvette LA MALOUINE joined
the escort. Destroyer SALADIN departed the escort on 14 February and
destroyers BURNHAM and MALCOLM on 15 February. On 15 February, corvette
KINGCUP and anti-submarine trawlers NORTHERN PRIDE and VIZALMA joined the
escort. Destroyer SARDONYX and corvettes KINGCUP and LA MALOUINE were
detached and the remainder on 18 February, and arrived at Liverpool on 18 February.

On 12 February, the convoy dispersed when attacked by German heavy
cruiser ADMIRAL HIPPER.

Friday,31 January

Destroyer ZULU arrived at Scapa Flow at 1730 from Rosyth on
completion of refitting.

_____

Destroyer MEYNELL departed Scapa Flow at 2300 on completion of
working up.

The destroyer arrived at Rosyth at 1100 on 1 February, en route to the
Nore.

_____

Convoy OB.280 departed Liverpool, escorted by destroyers
BEVERLEY and HARVESTER, corvettes ARBUTUS, CAMELLIA, ERICA, anti-submarine
yacht PHILANTE, ocean boarding vessels CAVINA, CORINTHIAN, CRISPIN. The ocean
boarding vessels were detached on 3 February and the remainder of the escort
on 4 February when the convoy was dispersed.

British tanker DESMOULEA (8120grt) was damaged by an Italian S boat in
35-20N, 25-34E.

The tanker was towed to SudaBay by destroyer DAINTY, arriving
at 0800 on 1 February. The cargo was discharged into British tanker EOCENE
(4216grt).

The tanker arrived at Suez on 6 May for use as a
temporary storage vessel, pending repairs.

Corvette PEONY with convoy AN.14 was missed by aircraft torpedoes
forty miles from SudaBay.

_____

Italian tug URSUS (407grt), on passage from Lissa to Curzola, was sunk
by Submarine RORQUAL gunfire.

The tug was towing barge GM 239 which was also damaged. The barge was
later towed into Dubrovnik.

_____

Convoy SC.21 departed Halifax, escorted by armed merchant
cruiser MONTCLARE, which was detached on 13 February. On 13 February, corvettes
FLEUR DE LYS and TULIP joined the convoy. On 14 February, destroyers
CALDWELL, VANOC, VOLUNTEER joined. Sloop ABERDEEN joined on 15 February. On 16
February destroyer CALDEWELL and sloop ABERDEEN were detached and on 17
February, anti-submarine trawlers HUDDERSFIELDTOWN and YORKCITY joined. The escort was
detached on 18 February, the convoy arrived at Liverpool on 18 February.

_____

Light cruiser DAUNTLESS arrived at Penang.

_____

New Zealand light cruiser LEANDER
departed Colombo on patrol.

January,
miscellaneous

Two Greek destroyers swept in the Adriatic. Later four Greek destroyers
bombarded Valona on the report of two Italian light cruisers being there.

further
formatting and editing is needed, but the data is being made
available without delay